An international conference hosted by the Centre for Victorian Studies

Keynote speakers:

ISOBEL ARMSTRONG, TIM KENDALL, YOPIE PRINS, SUSAN WOLFSON

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Whether classical or modern, quantitative or accentual, conventional orexperimental - metre mattered to nineteenth-century poets and readers; andmetrical matters were hotly debated throughout the century. Framed by andoften framing these debates, the science of versification - prosody -evolved into a vigorous and highly specialized corpus of knowledge, andtreatises, textbooks, manuals, and histories proliferated. The period from1780 to 1914 constituted the high-water mark of prosodic discourse. Sincethe early decades of the twentieth century, though, the once vigorousdiscourse of prosody has been struggling to find its feet. Often rejectedfor its associations with American New Criticism or other "outmoded"formalist approaches, prosody has suffered both critical hostility andneglect. In recent years, however, scholars have renewed their interest inprosody, and in doing so they have revitalized debates about metre,versification and formalism more generally. This re-examination of prosodyhas been characterized by a plurality of critical practice, central tomuch of which has been an attempt to re-embed prosody within its multiplesocial and cultural contexts and also to highlight new directions fordiscussions of formalisms. This conference aims to showcase these newapproaches to prosody.

We welcome proposals for papers on any aspect of prosody during the period1780-1914, ranging from the minutiae of scansion to metre's intersectionswith other forms of cultural and social expression. Interdisciplinaryapproaches are encouraged. Topics may include but are not limited to: